Wednesday, June 22, 2011

The word 'had'

had happens four times in the first page and in 364 lines in the entire book. Crowley says "Had! The manifestation of Nuit." in the first line of his Liber AL vel Legis. Had is Hadit and Horus in "James Joyce's Book of the Dead", as Joyce himself called FW: Horus is the sky god that announces a new day through his name, "had". The Wake abounds in references to Crowley, probably because Crowley wrote a very positive review of Ulysses called "The Genius of Mr. James Joyce". Crowley constantly referred to Enochian magic, and in the Book of Enoch we read:

"12. And the sun and the stars bring in all the years exactly, so that they do not advance or delay their position by a single day unto eternity; but complete the years with perfect justice in 364 days."

The word 'had' happens for the first time as "had passencore arrived". Notice that the syllable "pa" didn't appear on the first draft version ( "Had not encore arrived" ). Vico says : ""It seems likely that, when the first lightning bolts had awakened the wonder of humankind, Jupiter's exclamations called forth the first human exclamation, the syllable pa.". And, of course, both Jupiter and Hadit and Horus rule over the sky.